


Him & Her: a short story

by black_kitty_cat



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/M, Moving In Together, first original work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-22
Updated: 2013-05-22
Packaged: 2017-12-12 14:19:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/812538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/black_kitty_cat/pseuds/black_kitty_cat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>From writeworld.tumblr.com: "'I need to tell you something.' In one sentence is the spark of a story. Ignite. Mission: Write a story, a description, a poem, a metaphor, a commentary, or a memory about this sentence. Write something about this sentence."<br/>So that's what I did. A short story about two people. No names, no descriptions, just a few days in the lives of Him and Her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Him & Her: a short story

**Author's Note:**

> Just something I wrote at 2AM on a Wednesday. Please leave a comment if you want to. Comments are like sugary treats to me.

“I need to tell you something.”

She looked at her boyfriend of eight months. He was standing near the foot of the bed, changing into a pair of pyjamas. She had already been in bed, but had sat up when he had entered the bedroom. 

“Yeah?”

He sounded tired, almost defeated. Things had been tense between them for the past couple of days. He had planned a romantic evening for them a few days ago, which had ended rather abruptly when he had asked her to move in with him and she had said no. He had asked for an reason why, but she had just shut him out. She spent the night at her place and didn’t answer his calls or texts the next day. Two nights later, she had shown up at his house.

“I’m sorry,” she had said. “I will explain eventually, but I’m not ready yet.”

He had let her inside and they spent the night in silence, sitting on the couch watching tv. He had expected her to leave at the end of the night, but she had asked him if she could stay. 

“Of course,” he had said, taking her hand and leading her up to his bedroom. He’d given her one of his old shirts to sleep in and they’d gotten in bed. They had lain side by side, almost touching. He had wanted to say something, anything, but no words had come to mind. She had looked at him out of the corners of her eyes, but she also hadn’t found the right words to say. Wordlessly, they both moved to turn off the lights on their bedside tables.  
“Sleep tight,” she had whispered, turning on her side to face away from him. She hadn’t heard him reply, but she had felt him move. When she had looked over her shoulder, she could make out his form by the faint light from the street coming in through the curtains. He also had turned away from her. She had stared at the bedroom wall for hours, but eventually she had fallen asleep.

This morning, she had woken up with his arm thrown across her stomach, feeling him pressed up against her back. A part of her had wanted to stay in bed and enjoy that feeling, but she had known she needed to get up. She had slipped out of bed without waking him. When she had left, he had still been asleep, so she had written him a note, telling him she would call him during the day. 

She had called him that afternoon to see if he wanted to have dinner, but he had told her he needed to work late. “But please go to my house,” he’d said. “You already have a key, just let yourself in.” She had heard the tiniest hint of desperation in his voice. “Okay,” she had replied. After work, she had gone to the shops and then to his house. She had made dinner for herself and had put aside a plate for him, so he could heat it up when he came home. Not feeling like watching tv by herself, she had inspected his bookshelves and taken a book with her to bed. She had made sure to leave on a light in the living room, so he would know she was still there when he eventually came home. 

She had tried to focus on her book, but when she had heard him come in, she had started listening intently to his movements downstairs. She had heard him turn on the tv before going into the kitchen. A few minutes later, she had heard him move back to the living room and setting down a plate on the small table in front of the tv. She could hear he was watching some news programme, but it musn’t have been too interesting, because it hadn’t taken too long for him to start changing the channel. About twenty minutes later, she had heard the tv being turned off and the sound of the kitchen tap being turned on. A few moments later, she had heard him come up the stairs.  
“Thank you for dinner,” he had mumbled when he had entered his bedroom. She had sat up in bed. “It’s nothing,” she had replied with a sad smile. He had moved into the bathroom, closing the door behind him and leaving her alone again. When he came back out some time later, he had gone to change into his pyjamas, which had led them to this moment.

“I promised you an explanation, and I’m ready to give it. If you’re willing to listen, that is.” She watched him, fidgeting with the duvet.  
“Of course I’ll listen.” He had finished putting on his pyjamas and moved to his side of the bed, turning down the duvet and sitting down. He waited another few moments before swinging his legs underneath the duvet and laying down, looking expectingly at her.  
She took a deep breath to calm her nerves. “I was honestly shocked when you asked me to move in with you. I didn’t expect it. You had given me no indication you were going to do that, and if you did, I didn’t pick up on it. Because I’ve been a bit preoccupied for the past week.” She paused, trying to gather her thoughts and find the right words. 

“A lot has changed in a very short time for me. I never thought I’d meet someone like you. Someone who makes me feel safe and warm and loved. Happy.” She wanted to continue, but he interrupted her. “If I make you feel all those things, why did you say no when I asked you to move in with me?”  
She looked at him with tears in her eyes. “I felt like it was all going too fast. We’ve only been together for eight months. I wanted to be sure that this was the right thing to do, for both of us. But the truth is, if you had asked me two weeks ago, I would’ve said yes. Without hesitation.” Her voice wavered. He took one of her hands in his. “So what has changed between then and now?”

“I went to the doctor’s last week because I hadn’t been feeling well. They ran some tests and… I’m pregnant.” She looked down at her lap, refusing to meet his eyes. She felt the matress shift. She had expected some kind of reaction, but he didn’t say a word. She dared to look up and caught a glimpse of his face. He looked shocked, but extatic. When he realised she was looking at him, he confusedly said: “Why didn’t you tell me sooner? And why would that make you less sure about moving in with me?”  
“Are we really ready to bring a child into this world? We’ve only known each other for eight months! Your parents think I’m too immature for you. My parents think you’re too old for me.” By now, the tears were streaming down her face. “What makes you think we can raise a child? We’ve never even really discussed having children!”  
He could sense she was getting closer and closer to a full-blown panic attack, so he took hold of both her hands, forcing her to look him straight in the eye. “You’re right. There’s a significant age difference between us. We have only known each other for a short time. And this is a complete surprise, not just for me, for both of us. But don’t think, for even one second, that I wouldn’t want to have a child with you. I’ve only known about this little boy or girl for less than five minutes, but I’m already looking forward to having him or her in my arms, and watching them grow up and teaching them how to ride a bike or kick a football or taking them to ballet class.”  
She gave him a small smile. “Really?” she asked, unsure. “Yes, really. If I’m being completely honest, the reason I asked you to move in with me now was to just take that next step and get us on the way to getting married and starting a family. I thought living together for a few months would be best, I didn’t want to scare you off by immediately proposing to you, but if that’s what you want, I will.”

“Let’s not talk about marriage just yet,” she said, her small smile growing a little bit bigger. “I can’t believe I’ve handled this so badly. I should’ve just told you about this when I found out, but I panicked about how everything would change and then you asked me to move in with you and I just shut down and couldn’t handle it and then I basically ignored you for two days… Are you really happy about this?”

He let go of one of her hands and placed his hand on her still flat stomach, caressing it through her pyjama top with his thumb. “I am,” he whispered. She put her hand on top of his, interlocking their fingers. “I am too,” she replied. They both remained silent for a few minutes, staring down at their hands on her stomach. “There’s a tiny, tiny baby in there,” he said, his voice full of wonderment. She didn’t say anything, but pressed a small kiss to the side of his mouth. He lifted his head, looking her in the eyes. “Will you move in with me?” he asked, heart beating fast even though he was quite sure what her answer would be. She smiled. “I will.”


End file.
